Fish Pond Design and Construction Plan For Beginners

Fish Pond Design and Construction Plan:

The following details are about Fish Pond Design and Construction plan for beginners.

FISH POND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PLAN – INTRODUCTION TO FISH FARMING:

The fish culture has been an essential occupation in villages and rural areas. It is also a development project in rural areas suffering from the protein deficiency. The farming of fish can be in natural ponds or in man-made ponds. 2000 years ago the Chinese people 1^st started the fish farming.

The fishes can be farmed in fresh waters, marine waters, ponds and running waters. As there are many cultures in farming the fish such as pond culture, running water culture, culture in recirculating systems, culture in rice fields, cage culture, open culture, monoculture and polyculture. The fish production in farm yards can provide protein and it also gives extra income to the farmers. The fishes like crap and oreachromis are easy for rearing and can be profitable if there is a management plan of rearing the fishes. The following are the inputs and outputs of fish farming:

Inputs:

• Capital.
• Labour.
• Land.
• Water.
• Management skills.

Outputs:

• Profit.
• Proteins/Fish meat.

FISH  POND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PLAN – ADVANTAGES OF FISH FARMING:

There are many advantages of fish farming, which are listed here,

• The fish preference is in the wide range all over the world and also the products from the fish are popular.
• The new business of fish farming can be started if you even have other business because it is easy to handle.
• We can gain more profits due to huge demand.
• The profits of the fish farming business can be gained within a few years after starting it.
• Due to high content of nutrients and minerals supplementary feed are not required.
• While compared to other business the cost of labor is very low.
• The price and demand for the fishes are very high in all commercial markets.

FISH POND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PLAN – SUITABLE FISH BREEDS IN POND CULTURE:

There are many species that are reared in ponds successfully, but there are some restricted numbers of species which are only cultivated in commercial scale. The aim of commercial pond culture is to produce fish and earn profit. These are the basic criteria of selecting the suitable fish breeds for rearing them in pond culture.

Criteria for selecting of suitable fish species:

• High market demand with high price.
• The fishes which are pleasant to taste and which have high nutrient value.
• These are easy to breed and easy to rear seeds.
• The breeds which are adaptable to drained and undrained pond environment.
• Fast growing breeds.
• The breeds that can convert the artificial feed efficiently.
• The breeds which are not easily susceptible to disease.

Fish Pond Design and Construction – The breeds which are suitable for pond culture:

Catla:

• This breed is fast growing; it is major carp species and is widely distributed in the countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan, Burma and Bangladesh.
• They are gray in color with silver sides, its length is 1 m and it has a stout body with a broad head, upturned mouth, long fins and visible lips.
• The fish attains maturity in 2^nd year of its life and it carries 70,000 eggs per kg body weight.

Rohu:

• This breed is a natural inhabitant of the river system. The breed is widely distributed in India, Burma, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
• They are blue or brownish gray, their scales are gray, red and black, it has a small head with elongated body, and mouth has thick lips and short barbells.
• Its length is 90 cm. In one year it weighs around 900 g.
• It attains maturity in 2^nd year of its life. It carries 2,26,000 – 2,80,000 eggs depends on the size.

Mrigal:

• These are inhabited to the river systems. These are popularly distributed in countries like Burma, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.
• The fins of fish have orange tinge, the caudal in sharp. The head of the fish is small with a blunt mouth.
• The fish attains maturity in 1^st-2^nd year of its life.
• The fish can carry 1, 24,000 – 1,900,000 eggs depends on the size.

Silver carp:

• These are found and distributed in the countries like South and Central China and in the Amur Basin in USSR.
• The maximum length of fish is 140 cm.
• This breed attains maturity within the 2nd year of its life. In this breed male mature earlier than the female.
• The fish can carry 1, 45,000 – 2, 044, 00 eggs depending on the size. The weight of the fish is 1.5 kg in a year.

Grass carp:

• These are popularly found and distributed in South-Central and North-China and the river of Amur in USSR.
• These breeds are also named as Ctenopharyngodon Idella.
• They achieve maturity in 3^rd– 4^th years of its life in China. And in India the fish attains its maturity in 2 years.
• The fish weigh between 4.7 – 7.0 kg. The eggs range of this fish is 3, 08, 00 and 6, 18, 100 eggs depends on the size.
• It grows one 1 kg in a year.

Common carp:

• These are originally native to the temperate regions of Asia, especially in China.
• They attain 1 kg of weight in one year.
• In tropical conditions it attains maturity within 1^st year of its life.
• The eggs are small and adhesive in nature.

FISH POND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PLAN – FISH POND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION:

Survey for fish pond construction:

• The land should be surveyed before constructing the pond to find out its topography.
• The first step in the construction of fish pond is making the land which is proposed for the pond.
• The main wall should be constructed near the natural slope.
• The mark on the wall should be near the lower end of the pond where the natural slope is greatest.

Designing the fish pond:

• The first step taken in designing the fish pond is soil immunity, soil type, topography and water supply.
• There should be a clarity maintained that how many nurseries, rearing and stocking ponds are to be constructed.
• If the fish farm is constructed only for the production of seed, then there is minimal usage of the nursery and stocking a pond. In a small area the ponds can be constructed.
• In case of rearing and producing the seeds, then more stocking ponds will be constructed to produce fishes and seeds and also to produce table size fish after stocking fingerlings.
• As we farm all fishes, then we need to construct all types of ponds which are based on the intended stocking density.
• An acre of land is must for the fish pond. Less than an acre is rarely satisfactory for fish population over many years. In small areas the management required is more, but the income is less.
• For the designing and construction, we need to consider some important things like exact size, maximum depth, average depth, and water volume of the pond.

Fish Pond Design and Construction- Different kinds of pond:

The ponds differ according to the sources of water. The water can be drained from the pond. The different water sources of the pond are:

Ground-fed ponds:

• The water is supplied from either a spring into the ponds or any other area close to it. Supply of water may vary, but the quality will be constant.
• The water is supplied into the ponds by seepage. The level of water in the pond varies with the level of the water – table.

Rain – fed water:

The ponds are filled with rain water and the surface runoff, the water is not supplied in dry season. The ponds are often in small depression in impermeable soil, with a dike built at the lower side to maintain more soil.

Water running –fed water:

The ponds can be filled with the nearby streams, a lake, a reservoir or an irrigation canal.  The water can be filled with running water, steam straight into the ponds. By water entering a channel from which the controlled amounts can be filled to the ponds.

Pump – fed ponds:

Water can be pumped from the well, spring, lake, reservoir and irrigation canal.

Different drainage ponds:

• Undrainable ponds: These ponds can’t be drained by gravity. These are generally filled by groundwater or surface runoff and their water level may vary seasonally. These ponds have two main origins.
• Drainable ponds: These ponds have set a level in draining the water. They can easily drain the water by gravity. These can get filled by surface water from streams, spring and pump fed.
• Pump – Drainable ponds: These ponds can be drained till particular level and the rest water should be pumped out. These ponds are set and only used where ground water does not seep back in to any extent.

Fish Pond Design and Construction – Construction material of ponds:

• The earthen ponds are most common and can be easily constructed. These ponds are entirely constructed with soil.
• The walled ponds are constructed with blocks, bricks and concrete walls. These ponds are all sometimes constructed with wooden planks and corrugated metals.
• The lined ponds are constructed with earthen ponds with plastic and rubber sheet.

Fish Pond Design and Construction- Steps for constructing a pond:

These are the steps which are followed while constructing the pond:

Step 1: The site should be prepared by removing unwanted things in site such as trees, bushes, stones and rocks.

Step 2: The construction of seepage is free and the dyke should be secured by using the clay core.

Step 3: The pond should be dug and construction of the dyke is done over clay core.

Step 4: The construction of the inlet and outlet should be done.

Step 5: The dyke should be covered with soil and implanted by the plants and grass species like Rhodes grass and star grass.

Step 6: The pond should be fenced so that the animals or theft incidents can be avoided.

Fish Pond Design and Construction – Site Preparation:

The site is cleaned of ropes, cables and other items. The obstacles like trees and bushes should be removed around the site as they hinder movement of heavy equipment. These all are removed either manually, by animal power or by using machinery.  All the obstacles even the wood should be removed from the site. The surface which has the highest concentration of roots and organic materials are not suitable for the fish farming pond. The soil, which is 30 cm of surface should be removed.

Fish Pond Design and Construction  – Construction of Dyke:

The dyke is constructed compact, solid and leak free. The dyke is constructed using a slit of 15 – 30%, the sand percentage is 45-55%, and the clay percentage is 30 – 35%. The berm width is required to stabilize the slope. The embankment slope in horizontal to vertical should be 2:1 in good quality clay soil and 3:1 for the loamy soil or sandy soil. The dyke is raised by using the clay buddle which is deposited in 10 – 15 cm thick layer and it is either formed in the centre or inside the waterside of the pond. The dyke crest should be sufficient to help the farms from the allied activates and the top of the embankment must be 1 m. As for the safety measure extra outlet should be constructed on the embankment to avoid the damage due to excess level of the water raised in the pond.

Fish Pond Design and Construction – Digging the pond and constructing the dyke:

Types of ponds:

For specific life stage developments of fish specific kinds of ponds are required. The different types of ponds are nursery, rearing, stocking, treatment and brood stock pond. The rectangular pond shape is more preferred than the circle shape pond as it protects the fish from escaping during the harvest. The ratio of the length and breadth of the pond is 3:1 which is ideal; the breadth shouldn’t be more than 30 – 50 m. The total farm area can be divided into 5 % of nursery, 20 % of rearing pond, 70 % of stocking pond and 5 % of treatment pond.

• Nursery pond: The nursery pond size is about 0.01 – 0.05 hectares with a depth of 1.0 – 1.5 m. The 3 days old spawn are stocked in nursery ponds. These are reared for a maximum of 30 days, which attain a length of 2-3 cm.
• Rearing pond: A pond where the fry’s are reared which turn into the fingerlings and attain the length of 10 – 15 cm as this size is marketable size. These are cultured for 2 – 3 months. The rearing pond size varies from the 0.05 – 0.1 hectares and with water depth of 1.5 – 2.0 cm.
• Stocking pond: The fingerlings are reared into the market size that is 10 – 15 cm. The culture period is 8 – 10 months. The stocking pond is also used for the broodstock pond and the breeding pond as per the requirement. The pond area of the stocking is 1-2 hectares with a greater depth of 2.5 – 3.0 m.
• Treatment pond: The treatment tank is a large settling tank. The water used in fish ponds is purified biologically here. These are also used as the stocking ponds. For easy netting operation the flat bottom is recommended.

The farmer should use the altitude area for constructing the nursery pond followed by rearing pond. The lowest area of the farm should be used in construction of stocking pond and treatment pond.

Fish Pond Design and Construction – Pond construction:

The ponds are constructed with 2 types. They are

Dug out ponds

The dug out pond is constructed by digging the soil, which is most suitable for the fish farming and construction of ponds in plain areas. It should be constructed scientifically and mathematically by using and maintaining the size, shape, depth, and other factors.

Embanking ponds

These embanking ponds are mostly suitable for the hilly areas. The erection of dykes may be on 1 or 2 sides depending on the need. This pond is economically available, but it is not ideal for the fish culture because it doesn’t have any size, shape and depth fixed as per the mathematical knowledge or scientific knowledge of the fish culture.

Fish Pond Design and Construction- Inlet and outlet Construction:

The inlet is known as feeder canals, these are constructed to provide the quality of water to the ponds. These are not constructed to the ponds which are filled by rainwater. The inlets are constructed on the top of the pond and the screens are used to filter the pumped water and avoid the entry of unwanted particles into the pond system. The pipe of inlet should be designed and constructed in such a way that it should only take 1-2 days for filling the pond completely.

The outlet is constructed in the bottom of the pond. The outlet is used to de-water the pond during the harvesting and partially draining the pond.  The exchange of water will maintain the water quality in the pond during the pond culture. The outlet is constructed before the dyke construction.

Fish Pond Design and Construction- Soil and vegetation coverage of the dyke:

The soil erosion is reduced by growing the creeping grass on the top and sides of the dyke. For the embankment the banana and coconut trees can be grown. The embankment slope is planted with grasses such as Hybrid Napier, gunny grass and elephant grass to supply feed to the grass carps reared in the ponds.

Fish Pond Design and Construction – Pond fencing:

The ponds are fenced to protect the farm from the theft. The live fences are sometimes broken because of the wind break and it increases farm diversity. There are many ways of constructing the fences.  The types of fences are live fence, piled fence, woven fence, post & rail fence, wire fence, wire netting fence and stone wall. There are both advantages and disadvantages of these fences. The wired net fence is mostly used to protect the fish farm and also to stop the intruders.

FISH POND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PLAN – FISH FARMING TIPS:

• When you start a farm the size of the farm should be small and it should grow slowly.
• The water from a normal source should be converted in the aquaculture.
• The fish pond should be built by our own.
• The fishes can be farmed in Aquaponics. The people those who don’t have enough space for farming in large space can farm in small tumblers or glass boxes.
• The climate should be checked when we are buying a new fish.
• The aquaculture can be also done in indoors
• The fish farming can also be done by polyculture.
• For the sustainable future the only solution is aquaculture.

Read: Gir Cow Farming.

Read: Livestock and Fish Integrated Farming.

Last Updated: July 19, 2018